


Forever and a day

by Tashilover



Series: Claw and dagger [2]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Dragon AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 17:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin meets one of Douglas' former wives.</p><p> </p><p>Time-stamp to 'Ornate'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever and a day

Only an idiot would dare try to sneak into a dragon's den. Even if they weren't so worried about being roasted, squashed or  _eaten_ , they would still find all sorts of problems to deal with.

The elves, for example. All of them were ready to defend the den, if needed, to the death. And as far as Martin knew, Douglas employed at least sixty of them. There were probably more, hidden in the corners, scurrying out of sight. Unless those were mice.

The caves itself were guarded with heavy magic and it would take a high practicing wizard to ever break through its protective shell. The caves, Douglas proudly stated, were impenetrable.

So when Martin walked into the kitchen one morning to find an older woman at the table drinking tea while a man was opening every cabinet to look inside, Martin thought war had been declared on them.

Stupidly, instead of running out and finding a sword, Martin said to the invaders, "Hello?"

The man checking the cabinets pulled back, looked at Martin, and  _squealed_. "You must be Martin!" The man cried out, running forward, grabbing Martin's hand and shaking it hard. "I'm Arthur! Arthur Shappey!"

"Arthur...?" Martin's brain tried to catch up while his arm jiggled up and down from the over-enthusiastic handshake. "Wait,  _Prince_  Arthur Shappey?"

Arthur finally pulled back. "Yeah, that's me! I know, it's hard to tell without a crown, but I always lose it and mum won't let me wear it unless it's for special occasions. I see you wear your crown!"

"I... yes, of course I wear my crown, I  _am_  a prince."

"Yeah, I know! But you're the very first monarch I've met who wears their crown in their own home. I mean, everybody here knows who you are, so why bother?"

"Because he likes it," Douglas said, poking his head into the kitchen. "Hello, Arthur."

Arthur squealed again and ran forward, immediately climbing on top of Douglas head. Arthur grabbed one of Douglas' ear, kicked in his heels and said, "Mush!"

"Arthur, I'm not a horse, get off."

"Mush!"

Douglas sighed. "Excuse me for a moment. He won't get off unless I do this." Douglas turned and trotted away down the tunnel, Arthur happily yelling mush the whole way.

Leaving Martin alone now with the mysterious old woman.

He put two and two together. From the small golden circlet on her head, Martin determined she must be Queen Carolyn the Third. Martin straightened his back and began the formal greeting.

He bowed. "Greetings on you-"

"Oh, shut up. If I wanted to listen to you sprout off your titles and mine, I'd ask you."

Martin sputtered and stopped in mid-bow.

"My, you're a green one," Carolyn said. "Come sit with me, Martin. It was about time I met you."

He didn't know what that meant. Martin straightened his back and nervously tossed a glance back to the tunnel, wondering how long Douglas would be gone. It looked like Martin was going have to do this solo. Putting on his best Prince face, Martin sat down in front of Carolyn, doing his best to give an air of wealth and power.

Carolyn made a face. "You look like you're constipated. And you're skinny. Doesn't Douglas feed you?"

Instead of waiting for a response, Carolyn poured Martin a generous cup of tea and passed over a couple of large pasteries. "Eat. Goodness knows that dragon can wear a girl out."

Martin choked, and he wasn't even drinking the tea yet. "Er, what?"

"Don't give me that look. We're all adults here."

"No... I mean... you and Douglas...?"

"Of course. I  _was_  his wife nearly forty years ago."

Martin's mouth dropped. He didn't know Douglas had other spouses before him. "I-"

"I know what you're thinking," Carolyn interrupted him. "And  _no_ , Arthur is not his son. I divorced Douglas years before Arthur was born."

Though that was not what Martin was thinking (Douglas assured him that cross-species sex cannot result in pregnancy) he was thinking of it now. Heat bloomed up in his cheesk upon the realization that sitting before him, was another person who had shared Douglas' bed with. Carolyn knew, she understood.

Martin felt both a kindred spirit and a jealous heart.

Douglas trotted back into the kitchen, a giggling Arthur sliding off his back. Douglas looked over to Carolyn and Martin and upon seeing their faces said, "Something tells me I'm in trouble."

"How come you didn't tell the boy you were married to me?" Said Carolyn.

"Why didn't you tell me you were married once?" Martin said.

"It wasn't necessary," Douglas said like it was no big deal. "I was married to Carolyn over forty years ago. That is literally a human life time. Why does that matter?"

"B-Because!" Martin sputtered. "I have a right to know!"

" _A right_? Understand this, Martin, Carolyn was not my first human spouse. There have been many before her and many more will come after."

"Oh, Christ," Carolyn groaned, slapping her forehead.

Anger embarrassment bloomed up in Martin's face. He stood up from the table, the need to yell at Douglas clashed with wanting to keep this fight private from Carolyn. His fists were shaking. So what was he in Douglas' life?  _Spouse number 67?_

Thankfully Carolyn took charge of the situation before it got worse. "Arthur, have Douglas show you the treasure room, pick out a crown."

"What?" Said Douglas. "I'm not going to give Arthur a crown, he always loses them-"

"Arthur."

"Right, mum!" Arthur immediately ran for the treasure room, ignoring Douglas' yells for him to get back.

"I don't know what's going on," Douglas hissed, inching his way out the kitchen. "But once I come back, I'm going to find out." He dashed out, yelling for Arthur to stop.

"Forgive the idiot dragon, dear," Carolyn said, sympathetically patting Martin's hand. "They tend to forget human culture and a lot of it flies over their head. We've got about twenty minutes until Arthur wears himself out. Come, sit, and let's have a chat."

Martin sat himself down. He was biting his lip, he was still so angry.

"He's right, you know," Carolyn said, picking up her own tea cup and taking a sip. "I'm not his first spouse. I think his first spouse, his first  _human_  spouse was well over two hundred years ago."

"So what are we to him, then?" Martin fumed. "Temporary toys?"

"Oh good Lord, don't tell me you're just as ignorant of dragons as he is of humans."

"I... I know dragons only prefer marriage if it proved to be of greater interest than material wealth."

Carolyn wagged her finger at him. "You see, that's where you're wrong. Do you have any idea what happens to a dragon when they lose all contact with the outside world?"

Martin shook his head.

" _They're forgotten_ ," Carolyn huffed. "I'm sure you heard the stories. Dragons guarding their gold until the end of time? That's all true. They don't move, they don't eat or drink, they stop interacting with anything that has a heartbeat. Eventually time forgets about them and they forget themselves, never to be seen again."

Down the tunnel Martin could hear Arthur squealing happily while Douglas yelling something inaudible. He ignored the crashing noises. "So dragons marry humans... to remember? Why not marry other dragons?"

"Have you actually  _met_  another dragon? They can't stand each other! They only come together to mate, that's it. Sure, they marry humans for power or wealth. The smart ones, like Douglas? They marry to keep in touch with the outside world."

That didn't sound romantic. If anything, it made Martin feel more like a tool, like an object to be used at Douglas' convenience. It reminded Martin so much of his first days as a newlywed; that this was a duty, not an arrangement between two people who were in love with each other.

"Why did you divorce him, then?" Martin suddenly asked. "Were you that unhappy?"

"Goodness, no!" Carolyn denied, looking offended. "I divorced Douglas because I wanted children. By that time, our marriage had run its course- legally, that is."

"Then what am I to him?"

He didn't mean to sound so miserable. He didn't know why he felt this way, he knew this was a marriage of convenience. Why did this extra bit of confirmation bothered him so much?

Carolyn dipped her finger into her tea, grimacing when she found it cold. "I didn't come here to have such a heavy conversation. I only came to meet you." She reached over, snatched one of the last bits of the crumb cake off the plate, shoved it into her mouth and swallowed it down with a swing of tea. "I'll leave those questions you have for Douglas to answer. It's obvious you two don't talk enough."

Five minutes later, Arthur came barreling back into the kitchen. An overly large golden crown sat heavily on his head. "Look, Mum!"

"Doesn't your neck hurt?" Carolyn asked.

"Nah, but it is a little hard..." Arthur's head swayed under the weight. "...to keep it steady."

Douglas walked in a second later, his scales off-coloured. "I nearly got my head sliced off when Arthur stumbled over a pile of treasure containing jewled swords!"

Carolyn huffed. "What sort of idiot keeps swords in a pile anyways?" She wiped her mouth and stood. "Well, it's time Arthur and I leave. We were just stopping here on our way to Herc's kingdom."

"You're still married to that idiot? I thought he'd died from old age by now."

"I'm older than him, you clot," Carolyn hissed at him. Martin watched as she went right to Douglas, staring straight up at him with fondness in her eyes. She reached up with a hand and pressed it against his snout.

She wasn't petting him or stroking him, and yet Martin saw Douglas lean into that touch, closing his eyes as he did. She pulled back a moment later and both of them shared a small knowing smile.

Suddenly Martin had his answer.

"It was nice meeting you, Martin. Do come visit sometimes." Carolyn said, giving him a slight nod of the head. Martin nearly gave her a full bow back and thought better of it.

Arthur ran up to him and hugged him. "It's a shame we couldn't spend more time together today. We really were just passing through. It was really nice meeting you!" Martin gave him a slight bow and when Arthur tried to bow back, his neck nearly snapped under the weight of the gold crown.

Martin stayed behind as Douglas escorted them to the exit. He didn't bother to summon the elves to clean up, he did it himself. He placed away the plate of pasteries, drained the cool tea down the sink and washed the cups and kettle. By the time Douglas trudged back, Martin was done and turned to face him.

"Carolyn said I should apologize to you," Douglas said, sounding like a scolded child. "I don't see why I should though. I told you the truth-"

"What was your wife's first name?"

That shut him up. Douglas was frowning at Martin, as much as a dragon could physcially frown without looking like sick lizard. He looked like he wanted to argue, took a breath to do so, then released it, the fight leaving him. "Amalie'. She was younger than you, when we were joined. I was with her until the end."

His voice didn't quiver, but his tail curled in just a bit.

"Your second?"

"Jorden. We were together for only two years when she died from an illness."

"And I?"

"You are my eighth spouse. We've only been with each other for little less than a year now."

Douglas was telling the truth. There were many spouses before Martin and there will be many after. But Martin knew he would not be forgotten, not even in two hundred years. Douglas will still know Martin's name, his face, his favorite colour, and remember the sound of his voice.

"I like Carolyn," said Martin suddenly, changing the subject. "Let's visit them next month."

Douglas blanched. "I am not going to that pompous Shipwright's castle!"

"I'll go ahead and send envoys," Martin said, stepping aside to go to the writing room. He didn't bother to hide his grin.

"Martin! I don't want to-! Martin! Is this a punishment? Are you punishing me? Martin!"

**Author's Note:**

> I got the title from the manga, "Love Hina".
> 
> "I love you, Keitaro, forever and a day."
> 
> EDIT: Thanks to JustineLark, the quote is originally from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It.


End file.
